• woman in thought
    Featured

    The Father of Every Narcissist

    The father of every narcissist is, of course, the devil. He provides a perfect pattern card of narcissistic behavior, beginning with his fall from heaven. Just a precursory look at his words and behavior read like the DSM’s definition of narcissism. I have often had readers protest my Biblical analysis of narcissistic personality disorder. Their objection comes from the idea that NPD is a psychological term and, therefore, not Biblically valid. But depression is another clinical term often applied to Elijah, Jeremiah, and Jonah. It is a universal experience that afflicts most humans, if not all, at one time or another. So my response to the objection is that nothing…

  • falling leaves
    abuse

    When to Go No Contact: A Biblical View

    One of the most misunderstood concepts in abuse recovery is the concept of going no contact. As Christians in particular, this decision is often accompanied by a lot of guilt or fear. We reason to ourselves that we must love everyone, as indeed, Christ loved us. But even the Bible advises going no contact in some cases. I would even argue that cutting someone out of one’s life is sometimes the most Biblical choice one can make. But as always, we need real discernment when making such a drastic choice. Complicating our decision is the concept that God forgives us as we forgive others. For many, the concept of forgiveness…

  • Denali
    Solitude

    Wild Beasts, the Wilderness, and Jesus

    Wild beasts populate the Old Testament with some frequency. Elisha calling down the she-bears on the young men who threatened him and David fighting off lions come to mind. But when I read about Jesus’ time of testing in the wilderness in Mark 1:13, I was surprised. No one had mentioned it in a sermon before. Of course, I have read Mark before, so I must have bypassed it as one does while reading the Bible. It can take such discipline to learn to read the Word closely. The verse says: …and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild beasts, and…